DVLA BETTER THAN NHS???

I've just been to the Post Office to renew my car tax [£140 for a 2 litre Diesel car] and of course the tax has gone up by a Fiver as it does every year. However, as usual I took my MOT and Car Insurance Certificate with the application and on handing them over was told that production of the MOT and Insurance Certificate was no longer necessary. So I take it that the DVLA can now check digitally to see if my car is MOT'd and insured but it certainly couldn't do it when I applied as the Post Office merely exchanged the application for the tax disc. But that must mean that Drivers will be issued first with a tax disc and then checked digitally.....very strange.
But that must also mean that the DVLA has been more successful in integrating computer systems and data gathering that the NHS has.

 

You're right, Jack, I could have done it on line. But all my Life the Post Office has brought me letters, cards, parcels, good news, sad news, glad news. The Postman has come through sun, rain, heat, cold and stinking weather and pushed mail through the letter box and I've always appreciated that. But now the Post Office is being pulled out of Villages, Towns, and places where they are needed by people by Governments who don't care what social good the Post Office does just by being there, so I will use the Post Office in any little way I can by way of supporting it.

 

Yes MoTs are online now, I've found it very useful to check on the history of a car I was buying recently, it's free to check the recorded mileage and the MoT advisories since 2005:

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history-vehicle

 

Oh, I agree, Clueless. But my point is that while the car is simple to track, integrating the data regarding car insurance and MOT's to a particular car needs a lot of effort and co-operation. It must mean that Insurance Companies and MOT stations are inputting data to the DVLA.....but I can't see that as we are not known for our competence in doing such things. You would need a pretty slick operation to integrate both to the DVLA accurately and speedily.......and we haven't don't that with the NHS.

 

Tax discs are about to be consigned to history

 

That's true, FC, but there's been no official explanation as to how they are going to "issue" car tax annually, or how they are going to check on applications, or their ability to check valid car insurance etc. Nor has there been an explanation as to how the people who don't have on-line access are going to be able to apply for car tax.

 

And here's me moaning about the Government putting up Car Tax by £5 every year!!

 

It is a real shame they are being closed down. Our local village PO was closed down around 10 years ago, it was stupid mistake, the village has it's fair share of pensioners who filled the place up on a Thursday to get their cash. On other days when I used it there were queues, it was popular and very handy and made a lot of money (we knew the postmistress). So when it was closed (against much local protest) we were had to go to another one nearer the town centre, this wasn't very handy but at least there was parking nearby so I could take my ebay parcels there. Again there were always queues, and the lady from our village PO went to work there so it became another popular meeting spot - until that got closed down a year later. So now our nearest PO is on the Surrey Uni campus, no parking allowed anywhere nearby, so unless I fancy a 1 mile walk from our house with a backpack it's not possible to take anything big. The few times I've been it's deserted, none of the students have a need for a PO, they text, skype or ignore the outside world instead. The PO lady from our original village shop now works there and she says it is hardly used.

As a consequence all the OAPs were forced to have their pensions paid directly to a bank so that business is gone forever. I use Parcel2Go from a 24/7 cornershop and get my car tax online which means I never need to go near a PO again, so they have driven away their own loyal customers. What a crazy business, they are gradually destroying themselves.